An Act of Love
by SallySorrell
Summary: A suspenseful murder mystery... or is it? A, quick, entertaining read with a healthy dose of Ryan/Sharpay friendship. Mentions all your favorite characters... but which one is guilty? Please enjoy, this is one of my favorite pieces!
1. Chapter 1

"Ryan you shouldn't have!" Sharpay exclaimed.

She didn't mean it. At all.

I could see in her eyes, she was trying to be polite, but really, she wanted it and didn't care if I _shouldn't have _or not.

My name is Ryan.

Ryan Evans.

And that's my twin sister Sharpay.

"Ryan, thank you so much!" She gave me a hug with such force; I nearly fell backward into the Christmas tree.

I had gotten her a necklace.

A gold necklace, if you were wondering, with her initials engraved on the front and a single Sapphire hanging from the very center link.

"Alright, you can let go." I said, after maybe a minute between Sharpay and five feet of pine-needles.

She carefully put her new gift in my hands.

"Put it on me Ryan!" She ordered, excited.

I gently pulled her wavy blonde hair to the side, and then clasped the necklace shut.

No sooner than I had finished, Sharpay swung her head around to show me.

She was holding the Sapphire up in her hand, admiring it.

"Ryan..."  
Now she meant it.

"Oh should I show Mom?"

"She'll tell me how I shouldn't have wasted my money."

Sharpay's eyes brightened.

"It was that much?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Maybe..."

She looked me over to see if I was lying or not.

"I'm worth it huh?" She smiled to herself.

Right then, Mom came down the stairs.

I guessed Dad was still asleep.

"Oh."

That was all Mom said.

"Oh, you two are up early. You can't wait for the rest of us to open gifts?"

As she came over, I buried the torn wrapping paper underneath me, and Shar tucked her necklace into her shirt.

"We didn't open anything yet Mom." I told her.

She surveyed the area.

"Alright, let me get Dad up."

As soon as she was gone, Sharpay rolled her eyes at me.

"Smooth." She said sarcastically.

And on went the rest of the day... nothing exciting or important, so I'll just fast-forward a bit.

After a week or so, we were back at school.  
East High, to be precise.

We were seniors that year.

Sharpay had dragged me shopping with her the day before; to make sure our wardrobes were updated.

It was a New-Years' resolution of hers.

She was wearing a shiny gold skirt and ruffled blue top, her necklace proudly on display, and shoes to match.  
So she had a whole outfit to match her necklace. The necklace I got for her...

That would have normally made me feel important, except for the fact that Shar had dressed me to match her necklace as well.

Gold and blue, that's what we were both wearing.

The irony is that, later that week, our basketball team had a game against the West High Knights, whose colors happen to be blue and gold.

I've never much been into sports. Baseball and Dance, that's it. And I only played baseball because a friend of the family owned and coached the team.

But we did get some glares in the halls that day.

Chad stopped the two of us on our way to the auditorium.

"Where's your team spirit?" he said, half sarcastic.

I couldn't tell if he was upset or trying to be funny.

You can never tell with Chad.

Sharpay was a bit confused. She gave Chad a blank stare of sorts.

"We've got a game this Friday... unless you're suddenly a Knights fan." Chad looked the two of us over.

Sharpay looked like she was going to laugh.

"Break a leg." She told Chad, "I didn't know your game was that soon..."

She held up her necklace.

Oh gosh, that could start some rumors.

Chad inspected the necklace from a distance.

"Nice." He said, then promptly turned and left.

Zeke was the next one we ran into. He was sitting in the auditorium.

"Sharpay!" He called as we walked in and made our way to the stage.

I heard Shar mutter something under her breath.

She never really cared for Zeke, but personally, I thought she should give him a chance.

"Hey Sharpay." He followed us up the steps to the stage, "Nice seeing you here."

"Leave." Sharpay told him quietly, "We've got practice. You shouldn't be skipping classes like that."

"I came to try out for the play." He said, "I'm hoping to get the lead."

I stepped away, not wanting the fact brought up that _I_ would be the one playing the lead. The romantic lead, that is. Obviously the part Zeke wanted.

Sharpay followed me, leaving Zeke standing alone on the stairs.

After practice in the auditorium, we ran into Troy and Gabriella.

"You look pretty today Sharpay." Gabriella complimented. She stepped forward and looked at the necklace.

Sharpay had gotten over Troy, at least for the time being, so she and Gabriella got along fine.

"This is new." Gabriella observed.

"You like it?" Sharpay was giddy, as she always was when she was complimented, "I got it for Christmas."

"Ooh." Gabriella held the sapphire between her fingers, "From who?"  
Sharpay was silent.

"Secret admirer?" Gabriella twirled the jewel around on her fingertips, letting it catch the sunlight from the hallway windows.

"Hope not." Sharpay said.

I just looked away.

Troy came forward and looked at it now too.

"I'll bet money it was Zeke." He said confidently, and then walked away, Gabriella following unsurely. I'll bet she thought the necklace was from Troy.

There go two perfectly good relationships.

"Tootles." Sharpay called happily, "Good luck at the game!"  
Troy looked back and smiled.

Gabriella looked at him kind of shyly.

Later that day, just as Shar and I walked inside our house, the phone rang.

"Get it Ryan." Shar ordered, but with a kinder tone in her voice.

I picked up the phone from its place on the counter.

"Hello?"

"Uhh, Ryan?"

The voice sounded tired.

"Who is this?"

Shar looked at me from across the room.

"It's Gabriella." The person on the other line said, "If Sharpay's around, I need to have a word with her now."

"Hang on."

I held the phone to my chest and looked at Sharpay.

"It's Gabriella." I told her, "Whatever it is, she's not happy."

She rolled her eyes, as if whatever happened was my fault, which it kind of was.

"Fine."

Sharpay grabbed the phone from me.

I sat down at the table with a cup of water, mostly just to listen to the conversation.

Half of it anyway, unless Gabriella got really loud.

"What?" Was Sharpay's first response.

Then after a minute, "Why? What happened?"

I perked my face up and looked at Sharpay.

She put the phone on speaker, so I could hear too.

"You would know." Gabriella retorted.

Sharpay covered the receiver and explained to me that Gabriella had broken up with Troy.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Sharpay even sounded clueless.

If she was acting, she was doing a good, convincing job.

"Don't lie to me Sharpay." Gabriella nearly yelled, "I thought we were friends."

I would've been able to hear that even if we weren't on speakerphone.

"He gave you that necklace, and you didn't even tell me!?"

"Troy didn't give me that necklace...." Sharpay argued quietly.

"Sure. That's what he said... Sharpay I can't believe you lied to me."

"Troy didn't give me the necklace, swear on my life."

"Then who did?"

I looked at Sharpay, she took the cue.

"Ryan did, alright?"

"_Ryan_!?"

"Yes, Ryan, is that a problem?"

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

And with that, Gabriella hung up.

Sharpay just stared at me, a single tear on her cheek.

"Now what?" she said, barely audibly.

She took the Sapphire in between her fingers, as Gabriella had done earlier.

I took a single finger and brushed the back of it tenderly across her check, wiping the stray tear away.

"Well," Sharpay began, getting out of chair, "Looks like Troy's available..."

"What are you gonna do Shar?" I was concerned, to be honest.

"Well, if Gabriella thinks him and I are together, then why don't the two of us get together...?"

She licked her lips.

"I can't believe you. You told her the truth, it didn't work... I'll tell her myself."

Before another word could come out of my sister's mouth, I was re-dialing Gabriella's phone number.

I put the phone on speaker, and placed it in the center of the table.

"What?" Gabriella obviously recognized the number.

"Hey..."

"Ryan?"

"Yah, what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I kinda heard Sharpay yelling... what happened?"

Gabriella sighed.

"Oh Ryan, you had nothing to do with it."

She was silent a moment.

"That necklace your sister was wearing..." she started

"Yah?"

"I think Troy gave it to her. I think they've got an affair or something going. I mean really, why has Sharpay been so nice to me lately? This time last year, she was trying to get Troy away from me, and now she's just the sweetest girl in the world? Even you know how wrong that sounds Ryan."

"Was that a strike at my intelligence?"

"Of course not." She sounded sad now, "But you know what I mean... do you know anything about Sharpay and Troy?"

"No... And before you keep ranting, I want to tell you the necklace _was_ from me."

She stopped mid-sentence.

"You? Really?"

"Mm hmm."

"Sharpay told you to say that."

"No, she didn't, it's true. I'll bring you the receipt."

That shut her up.

"Is Sharpay there?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Here."

I left the phone on speaker, but motioned for Shar to start talking, while I sat there silent instead.

"Sharpay?"  
Gabriella continued before Shar could even start.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea Ryan gave you the necklace, it just didn't seem normal, ya know?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Troy won't listen to me..." she cried, "I pushed him away."

Sharpay put her acting skills to work.

"If he really cares about you, he'll understand. Gabriella, you're so nice, you deserve someone better. Really. Troy's a nice guy, but not at your level."

At this point, Gabriella sounded like she would do anything.

"Thank you Sharpay." She said, "I'm so sorry."

"You're forgiven." Shar told her with a happy tone, "Now go find someone new."

"Thank you so much!" Gabriella sounded equally happy now, "I've already got some ideas."

With that, Gabriella hung up.

"Who do you think's on her mind?" I asked, putting the phone back on the receiver.

Sharpay smiled.

"You."

"What?!"

"You Ryan. I was referring to you the whole time."

"Why?"

She patted my shoulder, and then left for her room.

I just stood there for a few minutes, trying to comprehend the situation.


	2. Chapter 2

Sharpay had an outfit ready for me the next morning.

Red and white stripes today.

"I'll look like a candy cane." I complained.

"East High colors, live with it."

"Who am I impressing, Troy or Gabriella?" I mocked, putting the outfit back into my closet.

"True..." Sharpay thought to herself for a moment, then began digging through my closet again, "Something bright." She ordered, then left.

So we drove to school in my car that day, Sharpay's suggestion.

My bright blue Mustang, as opposed to the pink one we normally arrived in.

As soon as I got out of the driver's side, Gabriella stopped me.

She was dressed for the occasion, Shar told me later.

She wore a tight green shirt and a soft-looking cream colored skirt that stopped right above her knees. Her hair was held back by a green headband, and she had dangling brown earrings.

The colors were so perfectly coordinated; it looked as if it had come from my closet.

"Hi Ryan." She said lightly.  
Sharpay stopped between us, intentionally winking at Gabriella.

Gabriella laughed a bit.

"I'm sorry I was mad at you guys." She said quickly.

"Not a problem." Sharpay told her, "I'll go explain everything to Troy."

I've never been able to carry on a conversation with a girl, other than my sister, so I reached into my pockets.

Gabriella just kept smiling, her teeth blinding me.

I held out a crumpled piece of paper.

"What's this?" she took it and unfolded it.

"The... receipt..." I told her.

But her eyes were glowing.

"Ryan how sweet!" she held the paper in both hands and grinned at me.

"What?"

She held the paper out for me to see as well.

_Give me a chance, baby_

_One last dance, maybe_

_You'll see_

_You can be_

_The only one I'll ever need_

_You're worth the wait, baby_

_Till half past eight, maybe_

_You've got a date with me_

_Then you'll see _

_You can be_

_All I need_

Oh great.

That was a song I started writing forever ago, that I never bothered to finish...

But wait, I put the receipt in my pocket that morning... I know I did.

Sharpay...

That was the only answer.

Should I play this out, or should I explain that Shar had set it up?

I didn't really have much of a choice, because Gabriella just came up and hugged me.

I hugged her back, gently.

"Ryan, you're so sweet."

Looked like I got to play it out.

"Well you seemed awful upset yesterday, thought maybe I could cheer you up."

"Troy would never even _think_ of anything like that." She informed me, letting me go.

There was a little group forming near us, watching.

"Well, see you later Gabriella..."

"Okay Ryan."

I turned and went inside, leaving her to talk with Taylor, who had been watching.

I passed by Sharpay's locker.

She had it wide open, and she was fixing her smeared lipstick with the help of her mirror.

"Hey." I put a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't even turn around, but looked at me using the mirror.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you put that song in my pocket?"

A sly smile came to her lips.

"Ryan." She said, totally ignoring me, "Which one?" She held up two tubes of lipstick.

She was nearly laughing.

"Sharpay."

"I'm kidding Ryan. And I put the song in there to help you along." She smiled, then went back to finishing her makeup.

"Whatever." I opened my locker, beside hers, to gather my things for the next class.

Just then Troy came by.

"Sorry bout your makeup." I heard him say.

What the heck?

I looked through the slits in my locker.

"Oh it's okay." Sharpay said happily, "Be lucky I can fix it fast."

Had I been missing something here?

Sharpay swung her arms around Troy's neck and kissed him intently.

When they pulled away from each other, I noticed that there was a red smudge on Troy's cheek, and that made me worry.

Sharpay dabbed at the smudge with her sleeve, and I decided now was a good time for me to leave.

At lunch, I was greeted by Gabriella. Sharpay was nowhere to be found.

"Where's your sister, Ryan?" She asked me between bites of her sandwich.

"I don't know, actually."

Just as I spoke, Sharpay came into view.

She joined us at the table.

Troy was still nowhere in sight. Whatever Shar was up to, she intended to keep it a secret.

Her makeup looked normal, no smudges.

"Hey Sharpay." I said, as casually as I could.

"Hi guys. What's up?"

Gabriella smiled a bit.

"Ryan wrote me a song, that's what."

"Aww..." Sharpay smiled at me, "Let me hear it."

I began singing.

Anytime I got an excuse to sing, I'd take it.

_Give me a chance, baby_

_One last dance, maybe_

_You can see,_

_You can be_

_The only one I'll ever need_

_You're worth the wait, baby_

_Till eight, maybe_

_You've got a date with me_

_Then you'll see _

_You can be_

_All I need_

I added another improv verse to it as I went along.

_Let me take you baby_

_Help you, maybe_

_Stay by me_

_Hopefully_

_I'm all you'll need..._

"I hadn't seen that last verse..." Gabriella smiled.

That's when Chad came by.

"Hope I'm not interrupting something." He looked at me, one eyebrow raised, then to my sister and Gabriella, "You guys seen Troy lately?"  
Shar shook her head.

Gabriella did the same.

"Neither of you? Man, what happened?" Chad laughed a bit.

"Back off." Sharpay spat at him, "They broke up yesterday, be nice or go away."

"You haven't caught him on the rebound?" Chad looked at Sharpay, who wasn't thrilled by the pun or the general question.

"Of course not."

"So you're alone Gabriella? Jeez, nice timing."

Gosh. I just noticed that my chance of going to prom with Kelsi had been erased. If Gabriella hung onto me, that is.

"Kind of." Gabriella shrugged, looking at me.

Chad looked at me now too.

"So you're over me?" Chad asked me.

I hate rumors, really I do.

But Sharpay was there for me.

"When did anyone have a crush on _you_?" she retorted.

But Chad's always a step ahead when it comes to jokes.

"What about _you_? I heard that necklace of yours is from some secret admirer."

Oh great.

"At least I have one."

It sounded like they could go on forever, but Chad didn't have an answer for that one.

That is, until Troy came up.

"What's goin' on?" He asked, nonchalantly joining the group.

"You tell me." Chad stated, looking at Troy then Sharpay.

As soon as Troy looked my way, Gabriella grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me.

Hard.

I would've tried to get away, but I figured she was acting, because Troy was there, so I just let her go.

Chad's jaw was hanging.

Troy just looked surprised, but not necessarily angry.

And then, another crowd gathered.

The fact that I was kissing someone, _anyone_, brought people in masses.


	3. Chapter 3

That day after we got home from school was a lot different than the day before.

Firstly, we didn't have any phone calls to deal with, and Shar and I were both in good moods.

As soon as I shut the door, Sharpay started talking.

"This necklace you got me, Rye..." she started, "It's causing quite a bit of drama."

"You live for drama." I told her.

She giggled a bit.

"So what were you doing with Troy, Shar? Before you start saying anything else."

"Nothing you haven't done before."

Somehow, that made me feel a lot better, because about all I had ever done in that department was kiss Gabriella.

"You lying to me?" I looked her over. Normally, I can tell.

"Nope." She looked me right in the eyes.

That next day, school went as well as it could go.

It was Friday that was different.

Way different, if you want the truth.

Sharpay and I wore red and white that day, to show whatever Wildcat spirit we had.

Gabriella was still following me around, which I didn't mind, because she was very nice, and a great change from Sharpay.

Troy ran into me in the hallway, when Gabriella was off somewhere with Taylor.

"Hey, Ryan."

He looked around, then, noticing the hallway was clear, he pulled a wrapped box from his backpack.

"Can you do me a favor dude?"

"Sure, what?"  
He placed the box in my hands.

"Give that to your sister please."

And with that, he turned and left, leaving me alone with a little pink box.  
I was thankful the halls were fairly empty.

I put the box in Sharpay's locker.

I was going to open it up just to see what was going on, but I decided I shouldn't, if I wanted to stay on my sister's good-side.

I caught up with Sharpay in the halls right as the last bell of the day rang.

Everybody was headed to the gym to get seats for the game, so it was pretty hectic, but you can see her hot pink locker from a mile away.

"Shar." I told her.

A passing person pushed me into her, not intentionally, I don't think, but it got some passing people to laugh.

I pushed myself off of her, but ended up right back on her because of the crowds.

"What Ryan?" She opened her locker, and both of us pressed into the space between our two open lockers to avoid the passing people.

"Troy told me to leave that in your locker." I motioned at the wrapped box.

"It's from Troy?"

I nodded.

She took it and carefully unwrapped the paper.

"What is it?" I tried to look over her shoulder.

All I could see was a folded piece of paper.

"Hang on." Sharpay told me.

She took the paper and began unfolding it, careful not to let me see it.

"No way..." she sounded slightly troubled.

"What?" I tried to read it, but she tucked it into her shirt, the one place I wouldn't even try to get it.

"You'll find out." She said slyly.

She followed the last of the people in the crowd, with me at her heels.

"Sharpay, what is it?"

"Why do you care Ryan?"

"I'm concerned, okay? Can a brother worry?"

"About his older sister, no."

"Sharpay..."

"I'm meeting Troy after the game, alright? Now relax."

"How late will you be gone? Mom and Dad get back from the business trip sometime this weekend."

"Tomorrow morning, If I'm alive." She laughed.

I thought about her words for a moment.

"Morning...?"

"Yes Ryan, _morning_. Hopefully earlier than Mom and Dad."

And with that, she left for the gym.

That only worried me more.

I put the pieces together.

Troy. Morning. Secret.

Oh gosh, my mind wandered.

Of course I was concerned.


	4. Chapter 4

I met Shar in the gym to watch the game. I decided I might as well try and talk her out of whatever she was going to do.

That plan was dashed as soon as Gabriella sat beside me.

"Hey Ryan." She said rather plainly, "What's up?"

"Not much."

She leaned on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, tickling me with her warm breath.

"What's she doing with Troy?"

I looked at Gabriella, then leaned in and whispered back.

"Meeting him somewhere, for the night. I'm trying to talk her out of it."

"Let her learn a lesson." Gabriella told me.

"Wait... how did you know what was going on?"

"I saw Troy wrapping some stuff earlier, during free period."

"What?"

"I don't know..."

"Oh..."

"That's why she talked me into you, Ryan, I'm sorry... She just wanted Troy to herself."

"I knew that."

"You _what_?"

"I was there when she was on the phone with you."

"Well she's gonna regret her trip out with Troy."

I just gave her a blank stare.

"I'll make sure she regrets it."

Sharpay looked over to us now.

"Whispering love songs to each other?" she mocked.

I looked guilty.

"You're so predictable Ryan." She said then turned her attention back to the game or back to Troy at least.

It wasn't until halftime that I realized something cold and wet on my shoulder.

I looked over, only to notice Gabriella was quietly crying on me.

I took her by the hand, and carefully led her out into the empty halls.

As soon as the gym door shut behind us, she threw herself in between my arms and wept onto my chest.

I didn't exactly know what to do, except to be comforting.

I awkwardly wrapped a single hand around the back of her head, running it timidly though her soft hair.

"I'm sorry Ryan." She whimpered.

"For what?"  
I took my other hand and wrapped it gently around her waist.

"What's going to happen..."

"What do you mean?"

She just cried.

"Really, I just want you to know I'm sorry. If anyone asks, I told you I was sorry."

She unwrapped herself from me and ran through the hallway and into the parking lot.

I probably should have followed her, but I was still trying to decode what she said.

"She's sorry....about what is going to happen." I recited to myself, "If anyone asks, she said she was sorry..."

I didn't want to be all alone in the dark hallway, listening to my breath echo.

I went back into gym, where the second half of the game was in full swing.

I sat down beside Sharpay.

"Ryan." She began quietly, "Look, I need you to drive me home."

"Tomorrow morning?"

"No, _now_, Please."

I tilted my head in confusion.

"But you're going out with Troy..."

"I don't want to."

Had I heard correctly?

"I don't want to go with him, Ryan. I don't love him. He doesn't love me. I can tell. He's using me, and I want nothing to do with it. I feel bad for Gabriella, and you, I'm sorry."

"Uh, it's okay."

"Ryan, please. I'm going to go outside and lock myself in your car. Come out after about ten minutes and use a different door, so it isn't suspicious looking. I'm going to hide under the seat, and be silent until we're home."

"Alright Shar."

She got up and left, purse slung casually over her shoulder. I have to admit, she was always a good actress.

I sat down and watched the game.

It wasn't long until Taylor, Martha and Kelsi came over.

"Have you seen Gabriella?" Taylor asked, "I just thought you might know..."

"She left."

"Where'd she go?" Martha came forward.

"Home, probably."

They seemed a bit _too_ interested.

"Well we need to meet her at a hotel at nine." Kelsi announced.

"Huh?"

"She needs our help with some 'grand scheme'." Martha said.

"Or so she says." Kelsi laughed.

"Who knows with Gabriella anymore?" Taylor sighed, "She's been acting weird lately, and I hope she's okay."

I just sat there.

Gabriella was acting odd, had some 'grand scheme' that she needed help with, and they had to meet at a hotel. None of this was sounding good.

Sharpay was _supposed_ to be going to a hotel with Troy later. Could they be connected?

The next thing I knew, everybody was standing up for the final minute of the game. I joined, but I wasn't cheering. I got up and left, through the back door, as Sharpay had told me to do.

I heard a chorus of chanting coming from the gym, so I figured we had won, and Chad was doing that dumb Wildcat thing he always did.

As I walked to my car, I saw something shining out of the corner of my eye.

I followed the gleaming light to the very edge of the parking lot.

I bent down, and noticed the reflections were coming from Sharpay's necklace.

There it was, sitting in the middle of an empty parking space. But why?

I picked up the necklace as carefully as I could and ran back to my car.

Surveying the entire area, I noticed that that was the only empty parking space.

Surely it had been full earlier; every space would be for a game. Even parts of the fields behind the school were used for parking during home-games. So why was one open?

I figured it was Gabriella's parking space, but then, the necklace?

Nothing made sense.

I pushed the button on my key to unlock the doors.

But there was no noise.

I tried again, but as I got closer, I realized the doors were unlocked already.

As I got into my car, I was going to start talking to Sharpay, just to see if she was okay and knew anything about the necklace, but I didn't, because crowds were beginning to file outside.

I put the key in the ignition as casually as I could, and backed out of the parking lot.

I drove cautiously, keeping in mind Shar didn't have a seatbelt on.

Within a few minutes, I made it to our house.

The lights were all out, so our parents obviously weren't back yet.

"Shar." I said as we pulled into the drive, "You can _speak_, it's just us."

Nothing.

"Sharpay?"

I stopped the car, unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over the seat. I felt around under the seats with my hand, hoping to get a fistful of Sharpay's blonde hair, but there was nothing.

Of course she wasn't in the car. The doors were unlocked and her necklace was in the parking lot.

"What hotel could she be going to?" I asked myself.

Before I could take another breath, I turned the key and pulled back out.


	5. Chapter 5

I drove back towards the school as fast as I could, hoping Martha, Taylor or Kelsi would still be there to help me.

Even faster than I left, I was back at school. Most of the people were crowded in front of the doorway, having a celebration of sorts, so I figured I had a good chance at finding someone to help.

I looked through the crowds as best I could, eventually spotting Taylor.

"Taylor!" I took her shoulder and pulled her aside, making sure she knew who I was.

"Ryan? What?"

"Have you seen Troy?"

"Nah, he's probably trying to get out of the crowd. He _did_ shoot the winning basket. I can't imagine him getting out of here that fast. Logically, it's..."

That was a comforting thought.  
I considered all the other logical possibilities as quickly as I could.

"How bout Chad? Zeke? Gabriella? Anyone?"

"Zeke left like ten minutes ago, I saw his car pull out."

"Where was he parked?"

"I don't know, I just saw him leave... why? What's wrong with you?"

"My sister... I have no idea where she is."

"Well I'm sure she's going out to The Carlson."

"That hotel down the road?"

"Yah probably, Troy invited everybody down there for an after party."

"_What?_"

"He invited the _whole_ senior class."

"Not me..."

Just then, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket in a hurry.

"Hang on." I told Taylor.

She stood silent, listening.

"Hello?" I asked. I didn't recognize the number.

"Ryan. Hey dude, it's Zeke."

"Zeke... what's up?"

"You should probably ask your sister..."

"You're with Sharpay?"

"Yah, we're on our way to The Carlson. She's losing her mind."

"Let me talk to her."

I could hear the phone being passed, a pause, and then my sister's voice.

"Ryan, please come get me." She sounded near tears.

"Shar, relax."

"Zeke's insane if he thinks I'm going into a hotel with Troy Bolton."

"Sharpay, it's an after party for the game, okay?"

She was quiet a moment. Taylor was looking concerned as well.

"Who told you that?"

"Taylor did. She's right here if you want to talk to her."

Taylor looked over.

"No, I trust you."

"Okay, can I talk to Zeke for a minute?"  
She didn't answer, but I heard the phone being passed again.

"Hmm?" It was Zeke again.

"Why'd you pick up Sharpay?" I bet a sounded a bit defensive.

"Well I got out of the gym before the crowd, and I heard something in the parking lot. She was sitting in your car crying."

"So you decided to get her out of the car..."

"I figured she was mad at something, and could use a break. So I decided to take her to the party with me to try to cheer her up, ya know?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, well I'm on my way."

I hung up, with Taylor still studying me.

"So you're going to pick her up?"

"Basically."

"Well, would you mind taking Martha, Kelsi and I? We were going to go over with Gabriella, but who knows where she is..."

"No I wouldn't mind."

So Taylor found Martha and Kelsi, and we filed into my car, Taylor up front with me, and Kelsi and Martha in the back.

The Carlson parking lot got fuller by the second.

The crowds from the game were starting to arrive.

I hadn't been to any place like the Carlson before. I had obviously been to Lava Springs enough, but it wasn't the same atmosphere at all.

There, candlelight.

Here, strobe lights.

Oh well, maybe there'd be dancing. I knew Sharpay would find a way to have fun.

As I parked, I saw Sharpay and Zeke getting out of the car in the space across from us.

Zeke had her hand in his, and he shut the door gracefully behind her.

"Shar!"

I hugged her in spite of myself.

"I've got your necklace." I told her as she let me go, "It was in the school parking lot."

She seemed surprised as I took it out of my pocket and clasped it gently around her neck.

"Shall we?" Kelsi came forward and took my arm.

Sharpay did the same to Zeke, and Martha and Taylor followed us grandly into the lobby.

The receptionist saw us all entering, wearing our red and white.

"Wildcats?" She asked, taking a guess.

"Yes ma'am." I said politely.

Kelsi giggled.

"The rest of your party is in the club upstairs. It's been reserved."

"Thank you." Sharpay said, before I could.

We followed the signs to the elevator, and up to the very top floor, to a club called "Strobe."

The Carlson Strobe, the first dance-club I'd ever visited, and it was packed.

I wondered how much the Bolton Family spent on reserving this place for the night.

But then again, we were all seniors, we just won the championship, Troy's dad was the coach, and Troy, well, he was Troy.

It was kind of an odd experience though, being in this kind of setting with your _classmates_.

Kelsi took me off to the dance-floor, which was fine with me.

I watched as Sharpay and Zeke went up to the bar.

They weren't serving anyone alcohol, so that was good.

It was a slower number, so Kelsi had her arms draped around my shoulders. It was nice.

"So what were you so worried about earlier?" she laughed.

"Well," I explained, "Sharpay had me worried, she wouldn't tell me anything."

Kelsi just looked at me.

"I'll explain it." I promised, "Now isn't the time."

She smiled and leaned her head in.

After a couple songs with Kelsi, Shar came over, holding a half full cup.  
Zeke was still over at the counter, with most of our class.

"Wanna dance Ryan?" Sharpay sounded happy, so why not.

"Of course."

"Get something started." She stated, "A competition... you up for it?"

"I live for it."

So when a faster song came by, Kelsi went to gather some participants.

Shar and I fell immediately into some sort of improv routine, and we got our wanted attention.

Soon Taylor and Chad were joining us, then Jason and Martha, and Zeke and Kelsi, just for the heck of it.

It wasn't long before most of the class had coupled up and was picking up the little routine.

I thought I even saw Troy with Gabriella...

As the song ended, everyone clapped, and went off to whatever they had been doing before.

"Nice Sharpay." I told her.

The next song was slower, so Shar and I used it to catch our breath.

"That's why I love you." Sharpay gave me that sisterly smile.

"That's why I dance."

She laughed.

Then her head was over my shoulder.

I just let her lean on me for a little bit, until people started looking at us.  
I didn't need anymore rumors to worry about.

"Sharpay..." I whispered in her ear.

"Hmm. I'm okay Ryan."

"Get off of me." I said slowly

She began falling backwards.

"Sharpay!" I gasped.

I caught her in my arms, and laid her down on the dance-floor.

"Shar?"

People were all around us now.

Her eyes were open wide, and glazed over.

My arms were still wrapped around her, smashed between her back and the smooth floor.

"What happened?" It was Zeke.

"Back up!" I shouted at him, and everyone else.

I pulled my arms out from underneath my sister and moved them across her wrists.

Nothing.

I didn't even care about rumors anymore; I put my ear as close to Shar's heart as I could.

I saw Taylor kneeling beside me.

She seemed worried as well.

Taylor put her fingers back against my sister's wrist.

She motioned at Sharpay's shirt.

"Unbutton it." She whispered to me.

I propped Sharpay up over my folded knees and tore the shirt in half.

As many rumors as this could jump-start, everyone was standing in shock, silent.

Taylor carefully unfastened Sharpay's necklace and placed it in my hand.

I couldn't help but crying and a single tear landed on that necklace. Right on Sharpay's initials.

"_Ryan you shouldn't have!"_

Maybe she did mean it, because she was absolutely right.

I shouldn't have.

And out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gabriella running for the door...


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Well, this is an older piece of mine, yes... but I went through to edit this chapter... and I'm curious to see if it's still any good. If you're a new reader, enjoy. This is one of my favorite pieces and I'd like to see some more comments on it. My writing style has changed a lot since this was published, so you may prefer my newer pieces. Go for it. **

* * *

The judge interrupted me then.

"And that's how she died?"

"Yes ma'am." I answered, voice quivering.

"Thank you Mr. Evans, you may be seated."

I sat back in the chair as the "possible suspects" came to the stands. Taylor, _Ms. McKessie_, rather, patted my shoulder.

She had been the best lawyer a person could ask for.

"Ms. Montez." The judge began, "Why aren't you guilty?"

Gabriella stood up, but didn't say a word.

Taylor got up as well, to begin the questioning.

"Ms. Montez," My lawyer started, "Before Sharpay's death, you told Ryan that 'you were sorry for what was going to happen.' Was this implying that you were going to poison Sharpay?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what _were_ you referring to?"

"The... the rumor I was going to start."

Taylor nodded, cuing her to continue.

"...I was just so fed up with Sharpay blackmailing me; I was going to start telling people Ryan gave her that necklace."

"That's true." I pointed out. Taylor looked back to stop me from incriminating myself.

"I was going to say it was a more... _r-romantic_ type gift." Gabriella said, "I was apologizing to Ryan, because I knew it would hurt him too."

"Ryan says he saw you leaving The Carlson Strobe while he was knelt down beside his sister."

"Yes, I was leaving."

"Why, Ms. Montez?"

"I didn't want to watch Sharpay die. I mean...we'd been friends for awhile, and I didn't want to be there..."

"Were you afraid you'd be caught?"

"I didn't kill her!"

"Please be seated, Ms. Montez." The judge commanded, "Mr. Bolton?"

Troy stepped forward to the stand, and Taylor began questioning immediately.

"Mr. Bolton," Said Taylor, "You gave Ryan a box and instructed him to give it to his sister. What _did_ that box contain?"

"The invitation to the after-party. We had an after-party at the Carlson hotel."

"Which is where she died..." Taylor pointed out, "Sharpay and Ryan weren't informed of the fact that the _entire_ class was invited. Ryan was concerned, because he understood that it was only you and Sharpay going."

"That isn't true. You were there, I invited the whole class."

"Be seated." The judge ordered, "Mr. Danforth?"

Chad came forward.

"You spoke to Sharpay several days before the championship game, correct?" Taylor questioned.

"Yes, in the halls."

"And in the lunchroom, if I remember correctly."

"Yes."

"You were teasing Sharpay and Ryan, correct?"

Chad nodded.

"Nothing that would lead to her death." Chad said quickly, "If you're gonna blame someone, blame her brother!"

I buried my face in my hands. I guess it was my fault, considering _I_ gave her the necklace, and the necklace got us into this mess.

The judge seemed bored by Chad.

"Please be seated." she ordered, "Mr. Baylor?"

Zeke stepped to the stands.

"Mr. Baylor," said my attorney, "You took Sharpay against her will to The Carlson hotel, did you not?"

"She was locked in her brother's car!"

"Did you or did you not?"

"I did."

"She _chose_ to be locked in her brother's car. Ryan was going to drive her home."

"She was crying. I asked if she wanted a ride, I thought she assumed I was talking about the after-party."

"She wanted a ride to her home." Taylor said, "Upon arriving at the Carlson, you took Sharpay to get a drink, correct?"

Zeke nodded.

"What kind of drink?"

"It was just an iced tea, they weren't serving alcohol Ms. McKessie, you were there."

"Ryan said her drink was half full when she came to dance with him." Taylor retrieved a binder from behind her stand, "Many modern poisons are fatal if even a single _drop_ is swallowed. So from the time of drinking to her time of death, there was about ten minutes."

"Yes." I said, not knowing if she was talking to me or not.

Taylor continued.

"Autopsy reports show that Sharpay died of sudden heart failure. Not attack, but a random failure." Taylor produced a graph and waved it before the judge and jury.

"I tried to help her! I didn't poison her!" Zeke sounded shocked.

"Someone did." Taylor continued, "Her drink is the only logical way."

"Be seated please, Mr. Baylor." The judge called, "Ms. Nielson?"

Kelsi came forward.

"Ms. Nielson," Taylor began, "You left the area when Sharpay came over."

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Sharpay and Ryan were going to dance, and I didn't want to impose."

"Alright," Taylor continued, "During the championship, you told Ryan that you needed to meet Gabriella at a hotel at nine to 'help her with a grand scheme.' What were you talking about?"

"Getting Troy and Gabriella back together."

"Please be seated." The judge interrupted, "Any other suspects you wish to review Mr. Evans?"

"No ma'am."

"Jury, have you reached a decision?" the judge turned to the panel of twelve beside her.

The head juror nodded.

"Your honor, we've voted to find..."

...Then the bell rang, earning a chorus of groans.

Drama was over already?

Mrs. Darbus smacked her gavel down on the desk.

"Very good job today class." She praised, "We shall have to continue our trial tomorrow. Sharpay excellent use of props, Ryan, thrilling back-story, Taylor, wonderful research, and our defendants, very nice cover-stories."

Everyone left the classroom happy that day.

"Hey Evans." Chad stopped me in the hall, "Nice."

Troy gave me a high-five.

Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi hugged me.

And Sharpay, she just twirled her necklace in between her fingers and smiled.


End file.
